Buddha in Theravada Buddhism: A Study of the Concept of Buddha in the Pali Commentaries

This work examines the development of the concept of the Buddha within the Theravāda tradition, with particular focus on the Pāli commentarial literature. Instead of limiting the study to the historical life of Gotama Buddha or to the canonical materials of the Pāli Tipiṭaka, Toshiichi Endo treats the commentaries and the Visuddhimagga as independent and significant sources for understanding how Theravāda Buddhism systematized its doctrine of Buddhahood. The study shows that the image of the Buddha in Theravāda literature did not remain static, but developed gradually from the early canonical portrayal of Gotama as an awakened human teacher into a more elaborate conception of Buddhahood marked by extraordinary spiritual, intellectual, moral, and physical qualities. A central concern of the book is the distinction between the canonical and commentarial representations of the Buddha. In the earlier Pāli sources, the Buddha is primarily presented as the discoverer of the path, the supreme teacher, and the fully awakened one who realizes and teaches the Dhamma. In the commentarial tradition, however, this image is expanded through detailed classifications of the Buddha’s knowledge, powers, compassion, confidence, bodily perfection, and unique qualities. Endo demonstrates how the commentaries articulate the Buddha’s spiritual superiority through concepts such as omniscient knowledge, the ten powers of the Tathāgata, the four confidences, the Buddha-eye, great compassion, and the eighteen special qualities of a Buddha. The book also analyzes the physical dimension of Buddhahood. The Buddha is not described only as a spiritually perfected being, but also as one endowed with exceptional bodily marks and symbolic features. The thirty-two marks of a great man, the eighty minor marks, the halo, rays, footprints, and other bodily signs are examined as part of the commentarial effort to present the Buddha as both historically grounded and transhumanly exalted. These features reveal how Theravāda Buddhology integrated devotion, doctrine, and literary imagination into a coherent religious image of the Buddha. Another important contribution of the study is its treatment of the Bodhisatta-concept within Theravāda commentarial thought. Endo shows that the Bodhisatta doctrine is not foreign to Theravāda, but forms an integral part of its understanding of Buddhahood. The career of a Bodhisatta, the aspiration for Buddhahood, the long cultivation of pāramī, and the distinction between different types of bodhisattas are carefully examined. This allows the book to clarify the relationship between the Buddha-concept, the Bodhisatta path, and the doctrine of perfections in Theravāda Buddhism. Overall, Buddha in Theravada Buddhism presents a systematic study of how the Theravāda commentarial tradition developed a rich and sophisticated doctrine of the Buddha. It is especially valuable for research on Pāli commentaries, Theravāda Buddhology, the Bodhisatta ideal, and the doctrinal formation of Buddhahood beyond the early canonical texts.